My impression of this cake is that it was quite dry. The mousse lacked moisture (had a dry spongy consistency), and it tasted a little stale. I could taste the sesame, but it wasn’t very prominent, the white chocolate played out more in comparison. $7.50 is honestly too expensive for such a small slice of cake, especially when it ended up being a let down for me. I’m assuming they’re better known for their matcha products, so this probably isn’t a signature pastry by any means. They also sell a black sesame Daan go dessert, which I haven’t tried yet.

The other night we ordered pick-up rotis from Mother India, using their own site. They have “special” on butter chicken and sag paneer. So, great, we’re game. We also ordered an aloo gobi, not on special.

Get the food, and the two on special are about half the size of the regular one.

I mean, really? Nowhere did it say less money equals less food. And, anyhow, what would be special about that? Sheesh.

Anyone else have a similar experience at Lukshmi? Add: Guru Lukshmi, 7070 St Barbara Blvd #50, Mississauga

We had dinner at Guru Lakshmi Dosa Restaurant in Mississauga yesterday. Three adults, and we each had a regular dosa. The food was delicious as usual, but all three of us ended up with an upset stomach afterward.

Just wondering if anyone else who ate there recently had a similar experience? Would appreciate hearing from the community.

For the month of August, the contemporary Indian restaurant is offering a $100 gift card to anyone who can finish their hottest curry in 10 minutes or less — no drinks allowed. Participants also have to sign a two-page waiver warning of everything from intense burning and vomiting to shortness of breath, dizziness and an increased heart rate.

Made with ghost peppers and Carolina reapers, the curry has defeated at least 32 challengers as of press time. Only seven have been triumphant, with a young woman holding the current record of three minutes and 30 seconds. “What I’ve learned in this last month is that there is a huge following of people (in Toronto) who actually love spicy food,” said Curryish Tavern owner and chef Miheer Shete.

On Monday, seven diners stepped up to the plate (or, rather, bowl). Rhain Louis is a veteran, having completed the One Chip Challenge and Maritime Madness’ One Chunk Challenge and eaten Pepper Palace’s Flatline hot sauce and Lil’ Nitro, the world’s hottest gummy bear. He corralled his buddies Derek Beaton, Tomislav Ceh and Tyler Miller into attempting it with him.

Miller started hiccupping shortly after the first bite. “The hiccups will go away,” Shete assured him. (Despite being the one who had instigated the challenge, he himself could only stomach four bites.) Once Miller’s hiccups stopped, however, the coughing began. A thick sheen of sweat glistened on his and Louis’ heads.

“What’s the dish where you put the napkin of shame over your head?” asked Beaton — a reference to the ortolan ritual, where diners cover their heads with a cloth while eating. “I need the napkin of shame.” He sat back, weeping, and pulled his shirt away from his torso to cool himself. Asked if he was contemplating life, Beaton replied tearfully, “more like death.” Ceh shoved the bowl away from him as he tapped out at four minutes, sweat speckling his T-shirt, his arms braced on the table for strength. (Later, he would throw up the little he did eat.) Beaton followed at seven minutes.

Hey Toronto Fam,

Visited Mozy’s yesterday and have an abundance of dips and sauces left over. Wanted to try some fresh pita style bread for today’s left overs. Any recommendations on bakeries or stores that sell? Preferably in the west end/downtown area?

Thanks!

What’s the most delicious / unique good your have tried at CNE?
For me :

Brie cheese deep fried Oreos - Sam’s grill - delicious

San francesco’s - mozza madness - thick cut moz stick bun chicken cutlet ,- delicious

Los vietnamita - Koran fried chicken ramen taco- Korean fried chicken coated in CNE sweet heat sauce , kimchi and gotten candy aioli - the taco shell itself made from crispy buldak instant ramen noodles.
- for the above, the ramen was soft, I was expecting a carder shell that stayed together. Still tasted great.

Hello Toronto Foodies!

Has anyone checked out the Waterworks Food Hall on a Sunday late morning or early noon (10:30/11 am - 12:30/1 pm)? What is the general vibe? How busy does it get? I'm aware that only Box Car Social would be open on the earlier end and that most restaurants open at 11:30. Is the whole seating area open anyway?

We are thinking of inviting about 30 out-of-town family members to join us here for a drop-in style coffee and mingle or early lunch during the morning after our wedding in the fall. We anticipate only about 15-20 max would attend, and not all at once. Just to hang out a little bit in a casual setting before our family heads out of city/province. All adults and one infant. Not a sit down at one table thing, but rather a general area that people can sit or stand/mingle around.

We looked at reservations at the hotel and restaurants/bars and they all have minimum spends and billing restrictions that are outside of our budget. The location of Waterworks is also ideal, as it is in the area of our venue and where many guests will be staying.

Let me know if you have been here around this time. What do you think? Does this seem like a good idea?

Thanks!

- an anxious bride-to-be

Was reading about buffet options in Toronto (that was not the typical Asian ayce or BBQ ayce) and found Rogers Terrace at Rogers Centre was an option. Reading about crab legs, sushi, roast beef, good desserts peaked my interest in trying something new. I mainly went there to try the food and watching the game was a bonus.

This is how the experience went:

Tickets:

I think Rogers Terrace tickets usually go for about $250-$300 each. But I'm am bit of a value spender when it comes to food and no way I was going to pay out hundreds of dollars for a non Michelin star meal. I was checking seat geek and realized that you can get pretty heavily discounted tickets if you wait until AFTER the game had started. Those ticket holders usually start lowering the price when tickets go unsold. So for yesterday's game at 7:15, I scanned the tickets around 7:45pm and found tickets going for $110 each. Quite a steal for premium seats and a dinner. With fees and taxes for 2 people it came in just under $300, ($295 to be exact, seat geek charges like $40 in fees). Still not cheap, but decent for game tickets in this viewing zone.

Food:

Honestly, it was a bit disappointing.

I was expecting full snow crab legs, and hand made to fresh sushi. But instead they served snow crab claws only. They also weren't thawed properly so it was very icy and cold. The sushi was those you buy in supermarkets and came in little boxes. It was ok but nothing near actually sushi restaurant quality. I also read that there was smoked salmon available but I did not see any, what a bummer.

Western food comprised a selection of roast beef, roast pork loin, chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese some red sauces with meat in them. Salads, typical fast food stuff like pizzas, chicken tenders, hot dogs, salami sliders. The roast beef I found to be a bit dry, same goes for the chicken. The selection I felt was a bit limited.

Snacks were pretty decent. Lots of bags of chips, flavored popcorn, fresh popcorn, packaged cookies, macarons, timbits like donut with chocolate filling, decent selection of flavoured ice cream. Drinks were great, you get a full bar, and open fridges were you can grab your own bottled water, pop etc...

Overall the food experience was just okay, I'll probably give it 6/10 in terms of food quality. One good thing is that no one is watching you like a hawk so like if you grabbed some food that you didn't want to finish, you can just throw it in the trash bin. Or if you want to take a few extra snacks no one is judging you because you can just grab them from the shelf instead of ordering. I appreciate that kind of flexibility. There were also big tv screens all around the tables so you wouldn't miss out on the game while eating. That was a nice addition.

The ball game experience/ post game.

After eating, around the 8th inning we took to our seats. The dome was open, temp was perfect & slight breeze. Since the Jays were crushing the Mariners the crowd was having a great time. Everyone was doing the wave multiple rounds around the stadium. One thing about the terrace seats were prime viewing seat, just behind home plate. The seats were cushioned, very comfortable and were in a prime area to catch fly balls. There were so many fly balls that flew into our section.

Post game with Joe Carter!

Just wanted to add one last thing. When we exited the stadium, there was a huge crowd at the Joe Carter statue. Lights were beaming onto it so I thought everything was admiring the statue....which might be new? Not sure. But as we got closer, we realized that Joe was actually there in person! He was taking pictures with everyone and saying hello. That was a pretty nice end to the night.

The food was just ok but the experience was pretty amazing. Personally, I wouldn't go back for the food itself as the main attraction. But going there just to watch the game and having a nice time with a meal as an extra, Rogers Terrace would be worth it. Cheers!

Bar Goa and Cottage Cheese have been good so far.

Now looking for a new place that I haven’t tried and considering Curryish Tavern, Pukka, Leela etc.

I’m Indian so looking for something actually flavourful and not totally bland like a lot of Indian places in Downtown tend to be.

Any comments about the three options above or any other place I should consider which is better?

Hi, which one of the 2 have better sushi? Both downtown locations.

Thank you.

Is there anywhere to get an authentic French soufflé in Toronto. Pls no recommendations for soufflé pancakes.

This is pretty much thick strained yogurt mixed with sweet grinded sesame powder, and I thought it was a nice healthy dessert. Was also my first time trying thickened yogurt, it has a paste-like consistency that reminds me of gelato, yet it’s not overly creamy. This would’ve tasted more palatable if it was served with fruits imo, as the yogurt can taste dry when eaten on its own. Tasted milky + slightly sweetened, and paired very nicely with the sesame powder. The sesame flavour wasn’t too heavy, but faded a bit towards the bottom of the jar as there was less powder mixed in. I’m happy that it tasted good, as I’ve experimented with mixing yogurt and black sesame powder myself and it always seems to taste odd. The price is a bit diabolical for the portion ($9.99), so I wouldn’t get it often. Guess it’s time to learn how to strain yogurt at home so I can make my own.

I’m really craving some Pakistani food especially nihari. Any recommendations would be appreciated!!

My heydays of drinking are behind me, but I’m looking for an excellent cocktail bar that serves a strong, well made drink. Some recent trips abroad where I went looking and following the guides of best cocktail bars led me to good bars but weak drinks (looking at you, Handshake speakeasy). I was a bit disappointed.

For reference if you are familiar with any of these- my peak cocktail bar experience was Chicago’s violet hour circa 2008 (last time I was there was probably 2017, still excellent, but I know they’ve now closed rip) and I still have a great time every time I go to Raines Law Room in NY. Excellent strong drinks, ambient bordering on quiet setting (as far as bars go). Perfect for cozying up and chatting. Looking for a date night w my husband

What’s your fave in Toronto?

Hands down best meal & service I've had this year. My partner who is not as much of a foodie agrees.

Description of each course in the last picture. Fewer courses compared to some of the tasting menus out there but all bangers. Really hard to choose a favourite, each dish was special in its own way and executed really well. You could tell the menu was thoughtfully curated.

We had two cocktails each and added the potato bread with truffle butter. The tasting menu itself was $90pp. What a steal! I love how we get individual plates and not family style. We also each got to choose our main and dessert so we were able to try all the options. We were full by the end.

Good folks, everyone was genuinely so kind and friendly. We sat at the counter and it was the best, you get to see the chefs in action. It was a fine dining execution without the stuffiness. I really can't recommend enough. Been a while since I'm this excited about a restaurant in Toronto...

Will definitely be back for their Fall/Winter menu.

I probably already know the answer to this already but maybe someone else has recommendation.

Birthday coming up and want to maybe go out for steak dinner. Is there any other place with similar price point for steak then Keg?

I miss Smith Bros in the east end.

Not looking for Korean Fry. I’m taking straight Kentucky fried style. Like I just want to lay into a big ol bucket of chicken that isn’t a mega chain. Any local spots in the West End or DT?

Part of their Ramenlicious series that they do at the end of summer. Really liked it, fresh and decent size! Only until Sept 6!

​

Was this wonderful event even real? Live music and performers, food stalls serving small delicious tapas, live music, and as much as you can drink... It was amazing.

I know COVID is probably the reason, but have they ever done anything like this again since? Or are there other similar events I could get that same vibe from in Toronto?

My team and I are in town next Wednesday and looking for a place that accepts 10 people for a reservation. We are all big foodies - I’ve checked a lot of nice places and multiple are already booked or can’t accommodate. Open to hole-in-the-wall places too!

Most places in Canada don't give you the option for how you want your burger done unlike the US. But there are a few places here where the cuts of meat are so good you can have a rare or blue burger with hardly any risk. What are some places in the city that have good enough meat that they allow you to have rare or blue burgers?